Schools are Still Killing Creativity - and here is what we can do about it!

In 2006 Sir Ken Robinson gave a TED Talk entitled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"[1] The most popular TED Talk of all time, subtitles are available in 60 languages, and it has been viewed 44 million times, not including the entire groups that watch it. Sir Ken's message certainly resonated with educators, parents and others. Despite the powerful message, delivered over a decade ago, and lauded by educators around the world, schools have continued to kill creativity . . . as well as the other "7 Survival Skills of the 21st Century" as outlined by Harvard professor, Tony Wagner.

This article is about how schools are killing creativity - and the other seven survival skills - and what we can do about it. View the compass for the 7 Survival Skills below. Click the compass to read more about each of these skills:

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This is how schools are killing creativity - and more . . . and what needs to change!

There are a number of paradigms and practices which we have inherited from the 19th and 20th century models of education. These inform and sustain the obsolete organizational structures still in use today.

Organizational Structures that are Killing Creativity!

The following organizational structures actually prevent the development of 21st century skills and literacies. They are also roadblocks to the design and implementation of 21st century curriculum. Students will not learn to become creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, problem solving, critical thinkers, etc., unless they have creative and innovative teachers, and a curricular program and learning environment that supports the development of these skills.

A 21st century curriculum design is, or provides for:

Integrated and Interdisciplinary

Global Classrooms

21st Century Skills

Relevant, Rigorous and Real World

Adapting to and Creating, Personal and Social Change

Project-based and Research-driven

Student-centered

Meaningful integration of Technologies and Multimedia

Designing learning experiences which meet these criteria, and which support all students in the development of these skills and the multiple literacies for the 21st century cannot take place when they are blocked by the following organizational structures. See the links below to guide you on you in identifying and eliminating obstacles in your district, or on your campus, in order to then create authentic, 21st century education.​

Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles in Your District or on your Campus

​What organizational structures are in place in your district or on your campus which prevent the school from providing the most effective environment and experiences? Here are some hints on obstacles you may discover and some suggestions on how to overcome them.

​Making Time for What Matters Most in Schools- an essay about what needs to change and why! We cannot afford to keep tinkering around the edges when it comes to education reform. What we need is a total re-imagining of education, or, in the words of Sir Ken Robinson, an Education Revolution!

Organizational Structures- this page begins this discussion by identifying the first two major organizational structures which are obstacles to becoming a 21st century school: Organization of the Campus and the Daily Bell Schedule. You will find additional obstacles outlined in the article below, Obstacles to Overcome.

Obstacles to Overcome - here we introduce a list of the main obstacles to 21st century education, and resources for how these may be overcome. So far this list includes:

20th Century vs 21st Century Classrooms

See this chart created by Anne Shaw which explains the specific differences between a 20th century and a 21st century classroom. It is organized into the categories of the Learning Environment - the Physical Environment, the Social/Emotional Environment and the Academic Environment.

You may be surprised at how many classrooms in 2017 are arranged very similarly to this classroom in 1960.

​This chart may be utilized by administrators as well as by teachers to help them transform classrooms.